Blaze's Story
by The Cheshire Kat
Summary: Blaze lands herself in the refuge for stealing, will it make her change? (Please R&R!)
1. Ham and the Bulls

Disclaimer: Yada, Yada, Yada. You know the drill.  
  
A/N: I have no beta reader as of yet, so please excuse the mistakes. ( Also, reviews are awesome (flames are helpful too, I think…?) so please click on the pretty button at the bottom of the page. I don't know how much time I'll have to devote to this story, but if you wonderful readers out there like it I'll work on it more. Anyway, onto the fic!  
  
  
  
Blaze stopped running and looked behind her. She heard the footsteps of the bulls that were following her and started to run again. She tightened her grip on the parcel she carried with every turn she took. She ducked in an alley no bigger then her width and held her breath. The bulls passed her and continued to run. As soon as the sound of the footsteps was gone, she ran in the opposite direction. She ran for ten minutes flat and arrived at her destination. She climbed the fire escape and crawled into the open window. She put her parcel away in her closet, under a loose floorboard, and cleaned herself up. She had just gotten into bed when her brother, Reed, walked in- followed by a policeman. She pretended to be asleep.  
  
"Blaze. Wake up." Her brother said gently. She fluttered her eyes open and rubbed them.  
  
"What time is it?" she asked groggily. Her brother looked at his watch.  
  
"Five thirty. There's someone here to see you." He responded. The policeman stepped forward and cleared his throat. He consulted a little notebook.  
  
"Someone had identified you as the person who stole the ham from Mr. Jinker's butcher shop. Did you?"  
  
"No sir. I've been here all day- I'm trying to get over a cold I caught from my friend." She lied easily. Her brother spoke up.  
  
"She has. I've been checking on her every half hour all day. I checked about in about five minutes before you got here." The officer nodded at this. He stuffed his notebook in his pocket.  
  
"Well, I'm sorry to have troubled you. I hope it wasn't too much of an inconvenience." Both blaze and her brother said it was okay and the police officer. As soon as her door shut Blaze groaned. She knew she was in for it. Her brother had given her his patented "death glare" and was going to thoroughly chew her out for stealing. A minute or two later her worst fears were confirmed when he walked back into the room.  
  
"What did I tell you about stealing? If I hadn't covered for you you would have gone to the refuge. Do you want to be stuck there for a few months?" he yelled. Blaze bit her lower lip. Normally she didn't take kindly to being yelled at. In fact, the only people to ever yell at her were her parents and her bother. Her father had died and her mother and brother worked full time jobs.  
  
"Next time I'm gonna let them take you," Blaze recognized the empty threat but let her brother continue with his tirade, "Maybe it will teach you a lesson. You have to stop stealing- learn to make due, or get a job." This made Blaze shake her head.  
  
"I will NOT work in some factory for 16 hours a day, seven days a week, for a penny a day. It ain't happening." This made her brother stop for a second. She had a point, much as he hated to admit it.  
  
"I know, and I wouldn't let you. There are other things that can be done by girls in this city. Work at Irving Hall. Medda'll take to you and teach you how to be a lady". Being a lady did not sit well with Blaze so she blatantly refused. She pulled her shoulder length goldenrod hair back into a low only tail. Little did they know that the officer that had been there hadn't' left- he was standing right under the fire escape and had heard every word. Her brother continued on his tirade until a nock sounded at the door. Reed closed the door to his sister's room and locked it. She heard the sound of the door opening. The voices were too muffled for her to make them out, but when the door was trying to be forcibly opened she leaped off the bed. She grabbed a carpetbag and threw her clothes into it (which weren't that many) and a few other things. She pulled herself onto the fire escape just as the door burst open. The policeman had his gun drawn and it was level with Blaze's head. She put her bag down and put her hands up. She had a pretty good idea of where she was going to be spending the next six months to a year, and she was right. 


	2. In the Slammer

Blaze ran her hand through her now ear length hair.  
  
"Hey Dan, you wanna play?" a tall boy asked from a bunk.  
  
"No, I'm good. Don't have anything to gamble away, anyway." The boy nodded and went back to his game. Blaze blew her bangs out of her face and checked her watch. It was 5:27, and the warden would be coming in 3 minute exactly. She alerted the boys and the poker game was cleaned up without a trace with a minute to spare. 5-4-3-2…she called softly and on 1 the warden entered. Warden Bullox was not much better then the previous warden. He was mean and still laundered money to the courts to send more children. All the boys kept their heads down and looked at their shoes. They passed inspection and went back to their illegal game of gambling. "Dan" listened at the door for anyone coming and was surprised to hear the patented footsteps of the warden. It was 6:00 and he usually ate dinner now. Blaze strained her ears and heard another, softer, set of footsteps.  
  
"Warden with a new kid" she called softly and the poker game disappeared as it had before. The kids all grabbed a book that they "read" and sat quietly. Soon the warden came in, followed by a small Italian kid. The warden coughed and all the kids looked up, with pretend respect.  
  
"This is Michael Higgins. He is new here and will be here for six months" with that the warden left, shutting the door behind him. Blaze walked up to him and spit in her hand.  
  
"Name's Dan. What do they *really*call you?" she asked, smiling. He returned the gesture, smiling back  
  
"Racetrack, Race for short."  
  
"Welcome to the refuge, what are ya in for?" Racetrack smiled sheepishly.  
  
"Well, I got in for stealing the mayors cigar while he was at the races…not too smart on my part." This made everyone laugh. Pretty soon Blaze was at her normal place, watching for the warden, and a new game of poker started  
  
The next day was Saturday and washday. Every Saturday all the kids had to get into a bid metal tub and be scrubbed from head to toe with lye soap. It stung and left everyone raw, so it is understandable why all the kids hated Saturdays. Blaze was always doing something on Saturdays, so she had to go last or first. This meant that no prying eyes could see that she was a girl. The only person that knew the truth was the washerwoman, Mary. She was kind enough and kept Blaze's secret. Blaze had disguised herself as a boy for on reason- they got it easier. The boys didn't have to go work in a factory for 16 hours a day, 6 days a week. They also got more food and better living accommodations. She had pleaded with then police officer not to tell anyone, and had relented because pf the state of her family. They needed her to be home soon to work to bring in extra money, so the officer had lied and said "he" had cooperated fully. She had chosen Daniel as her name because it was simple and close to her real name- Danielle. Everyone called her Blaze for her no bullshit, off the cuff, kick you ass at the drop of a hat, fiery temper. She was a bomb waiting to explode, or so her reputation said. She had made a name for herself with the street kids so that she could walk the streets safely and have a loyal army. If she needed them the "street urchins" would help her- out of fear or friendship, Blaze didn't care. She planned on getting out of here soon- as soon as she had a plan. She didn't really know who she could trust to help her, once she'd only been there for a few months. She had gotten a year and a half for her little ham heist and was regretting every minute of it. Her family came and visited her every chance they got. It was only once a month but it was the only bright spot in Blaze's mind. The guys treated her well, like one of the guys. She liked them but had no "romantic interest" as her mother had once called it. None of them knew her secret, and if it were up to her, they never would. She was content to play it safe for now, though she wished she could tell a few of the guys. Over the next few weeks, she and Racetrack got to know each other. She wanted to tell him, but she wasn't stupid. She found out that he was a newsie, and wondered why the infamous leader of Manhattan, Jack Kelly, didn't come to his rescue. Hye explained why.  
  
"Ya see, the way Jack was gonna get Crutchy out was by taking him out the window, but now that here are patrols around the perimeter, there's no way to get in. I know he'll find some way, and your welcome to come when he does." She appreciated his offer of assistance, but she wondered if she really wanted to leave. She got three square, if meager, meals a day and a warm, most of the time, place to sleep. It wasn't all peaches and crème, but it was a hell of a lot better than what she had to go back to. She often though of her real life, the one outside the refuge, but I never brought her joy. She missed her family but nothing else. The next Saturday came but Blaze made a careless mistake. She forgot to wake up early, and she forgot that today there was a time limit. They were all expected to be up, clean, and ready to go by 6:00 am. At 5:30 Blaze woke up to the sound of people getting ready and when she opened her eyes, the sight of twenty naked boys stared back at her. She closed her eyes and swore, mentally kicking herself for her lapse in judgment. She wasn't upset about seeing the guys naked- she saw them that way every morning. What upset her was they they'd never seen *her* naked- and she wanted to keep it that way. She thought of how to be ready by the deadline and keep her secret. In the middle of the room was the large tub, and right now a young boy named Kicks was being scrubbed to death. Mary wasn't as gentle as she could have been, but the dirt was bad on some of them. They got to go outside on Fridays and play in the small courtyard, and all the younger ones took this opportunity to get as filthy as possible. There ws no avoiding it- she'd have to get naked. She yawned and went into the bathroom, where she thought frantically. She had a brilliant idea- she took off her clothes and set them on the floor. She then turned on the faucet. Blaze drenched herself from head to toe. She took her handkerchief and soaked it. Blaze grabbed the soap and worked up a good lather, then proceeded to mercilessly rub at her skin, making it pink. She had cleaned herself and threw her clothes back on. Most of the boys hadn't noticed her get up, so they would all assume she'd already been through the washtub. Typically they were all preoccupied with themselves and didn't' notice when others did or didn't get washed. She stepped out and grabbed a towel. She rubber her hair violently so that it looked like it had already dried some.  
  
"Hey, Danny!," A short 18 year old named Ferelli called, "We're gonna go to a flicker after breakfast! Can you believe that?" the older boy sauntered over to Blaze. She didn't' like him or disdlike him- he was just there. He had been arrested at 16, and he had tried to escape twice, which landed him in then refuge until he was 20.  
  
"Yeah. Sounds like the State a' New York is gonna be snuckered again." They two laughed at this, although it was the complete truth. Every once and a while they got something like this or a real treat, steak (like once every two months). They were up and out early to catch the bus to Midtown where they would see a flicker and get to walk around for a while, after eating breakfast. Tibbys' gave a special to the House of Refuge, though more for the kids than the house. When they came they all got two eggs, a glass of milk and a glass of orange juice, and a hashbrown each. This deal was given by the owner of Tibby's, Marcus Tibbs. He felt for the kids and knew what went on behind the walls. He knew they were depraved and not rehabilitated in the least. All the kids were ready at 5:55 and stood in a straight, single file line. At 6:00 exactly the warden came, looked them over, and took them out. 


	3. Update!

Hey everyone!! Wow, so many reviews while I've been away! I loved them all, so thanx a lot. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I just got my Internet back, so expect LOADS more stuff on all my stories (I promise to try to come up w/ a new chapter for each).  
  
Anyway, tootles all you wonderful people!  
  
Blaze 


	4. Hey All

Hey everyone!! I am SO sorry I haven't updated in, like, forever, but school got me swamped and I was working all summer. I'm in college now (finally! No more APPLICATIONS!!) Anyway, this is just a little note to tell everyone to look out for more of their favorite fics coming soon (My writer's block is also gone, so my stuff won't suck anymore. Yea!!) Thank you all so much for leaving reviews even though I haven't updates in a while. Luv ya!

The one and only Cheshrie Charlie


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